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On the Brink

Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System
Jan 18, 2013jetboy2k rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
It's necessary, first off, to caveat my rating (3.5 stars) by explaining that I gave it this rating not because it is a well written or compelling book (it's neither), but because I believe that it is an important book for anyone who wants to understand how we got to the 2008 financial crisis that destroyed so much of America's wealth and the stability of its middle class. That said, Paulsen not only doesn't provide any information regarding how we got to that point, he in fact delivers a fairy tale about how we got there that exonerates by omission the politicians and financiers that openly colluded in the 80s, 90s, and 00s to bring about the conditions that caused the crisis. Why this book is important is because it gives the reader direct insight into the worldview of one of the major players in this group, and helps to explain (although unintentionally) why he, Geithner, Greenspan, and so many other free-market "proponents" can never be trusted with a capitalist economy. On the Brink is, without question, one of the most self-serving books you will ever read. What may be most disturbing about this book is that it's easy to believe that Paulsen believes his version of the story, despite a mountain of evidence proving why it's not true (read The Great American Stickup and Bailout Nation for just two examples of books that provide this evidence in a clear and concise fashion). And in light of the fact that, even without an understanding of finance, the stock market, and the regulatory responsibilities of government, it's easy to just identify where Paulsen contradicts himself over and over again. I have, in fact, copious notes where I documented such instances, and subsequent reading has provided specific examples of where I was right in my analysis, and the data that shows why. Unfortunately, as important as I do believe this book is, it is, as I noted, poorly written, inaccurate, and profoundly self-serving. In addition, it's ponderous, and while both The Great American Stickup and Bailout Nation (both of which contain a great deal of information, so it's not for lack of content) took me just a couple of days to finish, On the Brink took me almost a week and a half to slog through. I had to actually push myself through the last third because I wanted to be sure that I didn't miss the possibility that at some point in the book Paulsen didn't finally come clean. That didn't happen, although the Afterword is an integral part of the book in that Paulsen uses it to talk about what he thinks is needed to ensure that we never encounter another such crisis again - measures, for the most part, that he actively opposed as the CEO of Goldman Sachs and the Secretary of the Treasury under Bush, and for which he has still not actively worked to see enacted today. Without question, a portrait of how greed masked as capitalism can destroy an economy, and for that reason alone, a necessary, although not enjoyable, read.